SABMiller and Molson Coors yesterday agreed to merge their US brewing operations to create a rival to market leader Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser.

SAB and Coors, the second and third-biggest US brewers respectively, will have equal voting interest in the new entity, MillerCoors. SAB, the larger brewer by both sales and profits, would hold a 58 per cent economic stake and Coors a 42 per cent stake.